#33 – Coveys Great Adventure - February 2017 – Benson

February 2017 – Benson

The view through the windshield never gets old

As I said in the last issue we arrived with a list of things we wanted to do to Ripley. Besides working on the problems that always seem to crop up we had one big upgrade project that had been waiting until we arrived here.

Remember when the washing machine flooded the coach? We both decided then and there that it must go. We would never trust it again, and we didn’t use it often enough to justify replacing it. Besides, the thought of converting all that space into new storage was irresistible.

All the comforts of home

We planned to tackle that project at the SKP Saguaro Co-op for two reasons: First, Ed Woznicki would be in the park for a few days, giving me confidence that we could get the washer out without damaging the woodwork. Once we got it out of the cabinet we only had about two inches of clearance to move it down the hallway to the door. The second reason was that the Co-op has a fully equipped workshop with all the tools I’d need to built a set of drawers to maximize the space in the cabinet.

I love it when a plan works

Removing the washer proved to be problematic; it persistently hung up on something when we tried to pull it out of the cabinet into the hallway. We ended up reaching over it and blindly cutting the water hoses because we couldn’t see, feel or think of anything else it could be. That proved to be the key. After that the rest of the job was pleasantly undramatic. In a few minutes we had the machine out of the coach and on the curb with a “Free” sign on it. Four hours later it had disappeared. I am glad to say that we didn’t put a single new scratch on the woodwork! Thanks, again, Ed!

After hours (literally) of measuring, sketching and contemplating I decided to bite the bullet and build drawers to maximize the space and assure good access to anything we stored there. I resisted the temptation to make the whole thing a wine cabinet, but it was tough. We decide that our goal would be to move the contents of three containers from the front under-floor storage bay into the new space. The new drawers easily hold all of the pantry items, the bags of dog food and the extra wine with space to spare. The three wine drawers hold almost a case each! It’s great to finally have room to carry everything inside the coach, essentially right in the kitchen.

About 7,000'

We took  Ripley to Tucson to have some failing body paint fixed and decided to spend the night in a motel instead of in the coach locked up in the body shop’s yard. It was my first night out of the coach since we hit the road. Casting around for something to do, we decided to check out Mount Lemon.

Mount Lemon is about 20 miles east of Tucson. Rising over 9,000’ in the Coronado National Forest, it is wildly popular during the summer. It’s relatively cool 80 degree summer temps often cause traffic jams and force road closures as Tuconites seek relief from city temperatures in the 100’s. For us, the draw was lunch at a small ski area near the summit and the spectacular scenery everywhere you look. 

This was a great picture
until Shroeder moved

The ski area was closed for the day, but the scenery certainly didn’t disappoint. We all had a great time and got a welcome break in our usual routine. Ripley looks a lot better, too, with his new paint.

We are hitting the road next week to spend time with Liesa in St. George and then on to Oregon to camp host for a few months.

More soon,

Bob